A 7km defensive circuit encloses the Iron Age city. Because very few later remains obscure
those of the Iron Age, the greater part of the city plan can be recovered in remarkable
detail, revealing what appear to be a short-lived occupation with a single period of
building activity.
Since its inauguration in 1993 the Kerkenes Project has been devoted to the study of this
Iron Age city, particularly its urban plan and its architecture, using non-intrusive
remote sensing methods. Some of these methods are used to document what is visible on the
ground surface; others reveal buried features. The long-term program of remote sensing
includes the application of satellite imagery, aerial photography (aircraft, manned hot
air balloon, tethered blimp and kite), photographic rectification, Global Positioning
System (GPS) survey, total station mapping of visible features and geophysical surveys of
sub-surface features. Initially the survey data is used in the production of detailed
surface simulations of the site. In a second stage buried structures and features that
have been detected by geophysical survey are added to the simulations.
To date, the Kerkenes Project has concentrated its resources on documenting the layout of
the city and its architectural remains. By employing Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
as a major research tool, the Project is expanding the tools available to it for
undertaking detailed analysis and interpretation of the urban dynamics of the site.
The northern portion of the site was chosen for an experimental GIS pilot study,
within the scope of the AFP grant. It is intended that, in the next stage, the GIS
applications will be extended to cover the whole site.
